Trailer tool boxes are often loaded with many heavy tools and parts, and hence become a significant weight factor on the trailer. Fender tool boxes are known to the trailer art, and they permit the application of the weight at a point where it is most efficiently carried, that is, at the axle of the trailer. Such fender tool boxes are configured so that they may be welded over the trailer wheels, usually after the fenders have been removed, thus taking the place of the fenders.
An objective of the present invention is to provide inexpensive and sturdy brackets which may be welded, or otherwise attached, to the fender mounts, in place of the fenders. The support brackets of the invention are constructed to support standard tool boxes in a variety of sizes, merely by mounting the brackets on the trailer on opposite sides of a wheel of the trailer and at a particular distance from one another to receive a standard tool box, and by then bolting the tool box at its ends to the brackets. The use of standard tool boxes, reduces the overall cost of the custom fabricated fender boxes.
A pair of the aforesaid brackets is used for each tool box, with one bracket at each end of the box. Almost any tool box 22"-26" in length, or even longer, for example, may be supported between the brackets. All that is necessary is to remove the trailer fender (if one is in place) and weld the brackets to the fender mounts on either side of a corresponding wheel and at a spacing corresponding to the length of the tool box to be supported therebetween. The tool box is then placed on the brackets and it is bolted to the brackets, as will be described. Because the tool box is bolted to the brackets, it can be removed at any time for other uses. In fact, the tool box may be installed with quick-release latches, for convenient transportation of the tool box, which may subsequently be removed and carried to the actual job site.